Nana

'Nana' is the dwarf Barbados cherry of the ornamental and edible-landscape trade, sold widely across Florida, Texas and the Gulf Coast as Dwarf Barbados Cherry. Nurseries and botanical gardens list it variously as Malpighia glabra 'Nana' or as Malpighia punicifolia var. nana, the latter name placing it within the acerola complex, so its exact taxonomic home is genuinely disputed between the wild-crapemyrtle species and true acerola. Whatever the label, it is a real, long-cultivated, easily purchased clone: a dense low shrub two to four feet high with arching stems, heavy summer bloom and small red fruit. California Rare Fruit Growers lists it in the acerola cultivar roster as 'Dwarf', noting it tolerates temperatures down to 22 F and performs well in hanging baskets. It is the cultivar most home growers in the southern United States will actually find on a nursery bench, and it is used as much for low hedging and pollinator plantings as for its fruit.